1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a process for preparing foil-ripened cheese, in particular of the half-hard or hard type, comprising (i) introducing cheese after brining into a cheese-aging packaging containing an opening for receiving cheese, (ii) closing the packaging, and (iii) ripening the cheese to obtain ripened cheese packed in an easily removable packaging. The present invention also relates to the cheese-ripening packaging and to the cheese thus obtained.
2. Description of Related Art
The conventional method, as referred to in EP 1287744, for preparing for example a Gouda cheese comprises a ripening step, wherein the young cheese, after brining, is ripened at 12-14° C. to, minimally an age of four weeks. To protect the rind after brining, the outside of the young cheese is treated with a dispersion of plastic, usually polyvinylacetate, in water. During this ripening, referred to with the term “standard ripening” or, also, “natural ripening”, the cheese loses moisture.
In the natural ripening process, the outside of the cheese after brining is treated with such a dispersion which upon drying forms a protective coating around the cheese. As described in EP 1 537 785, said coating fulfills essentially the following demands:                protection of the cheese against physical damage        prevention of formation of cracks during ripening        carrier of antimicrobial compounds and/or colorants        avoiding contamination such as attachment of dirt and dust        cosmetic reasons.        
The processing of cheese usually involves applying aqueous dispersions of polymers, in particular polyvinyl acetate, having typically a solids content of between 35 and 48 wt %. The relatively viscous dispersion is generally either applied automatically by a coating machine, or manually, with a sponge or the like. A common coating procedure involves covering the sides and the top half of the cheese immediately after leaving the brine bath, then after 48 hours turning the cheese and treating the remaining part. This process of treating the sides and one half of the cheese is carried out several times, e.g. after 4, 6, 9, 12, and 15 days and thereafter at larger time intervals depending on the type of cheese, the required ripening time (e.g. young compared to old cheese), storage conditions and, possibly, other factors. Other coating procedures with different time intervals may also be applied. After application of this material to the cheese-rind, a film is formed by the drying of the coating material.
Under ware-house conditions (temperature and relative humidity, RH) a film is usually formed within 24 hours. A disadvantage of the natural ripening process is that it is labor and/or cost (if automated) intensive. Another drawback of the application of the current commercially available cheese coatings is that the coating is not easily removable resulting in that the cutting loss, when cut the cheese block into slices or bars or when grated, can run up to as much as 4%, even up to 15%. A major advantage of the natural ripening process, however, is that cheese can be obtained with different ripening degrees, ranging from young cheese to old cheese. Another major advantage is that the natural ripening process results, in case the required conditions are met, in cheese having a flavor that is usually appreciated as very good. Characteristics typical for a natural ripened cheese are very good flavor development, firmness, low stickiness, color deviation from the center of the cheese towards the surface of the cheese and the presence of a drying rind.
A disadvantage of the natural ripening process as described above is the relatively high loss of water out of the cheese. Under practical conditions (RH=85% and T=12-14 DEG C), 10-12% of the cheese weight can be lost in 10-12 weeks of ripening due to the evaporation of water out of the cheese. To prevent excessive evaporative loss of water from the cheese during ripening, the relative humidity at storage is already high (>80%). Under these storage conditions, an excess of mould growth may occur which then frequently results in serious adverse effects; sometimes mould growth is so excessive that the cheese can not be sold for consumption.
Another method for ripening cheese of the half-hard or hard type is the less labor and/or cost intensive foil ripening process, as for example referred to in EP1287744. In this method the cheese is ripened as rindless cheese, by packing the cheese after brining in a multilayer foil as for example described in DE10062417 and is then ripened. Cheese ripened in this manner loses no moisture during ripening. With the foil ripening process, young cheese can be obtained, however with little flavor development. An advantage of the known foil ripening process is that, as the foil is easily peelable, foil-ripened cheese, which is often of rectangular shape, gives no or hardly any losses, when grated or cut into slices or bars.
However, a disadvantage of foil-ripening is that the cheese also undergoes a different type of ripening. With this different type of ripening, the development of flavor lags. This development can be increased by using added starter cultures as for example described in EP1287744, but than an extra ingredient is needed and using added starter cultures makes the foil ripening process more expensive. Moreover, a cheese ripened in foil as for example described in DE10062417 may have an undesired consistency; for instance the texture of the cheese can be too sandy or too soft. Furthermore, it appears to be impossible to obtain a ripened cheese older than 6 weeks not having a bitter flavor deficiency. Disadvantages of the ripening cheese in a multilayer foil as for example described in DE10062417 is that there is little flavor development and/or the cheese has an undesired consistency, i.e. low firmness and/or high stickiness, the latter is in particular disadvantageous when slicing or grating the cheese. Moreover, by further ripening of the cheese, the flavor development and/or consistency diverge from the flavor development and/or consistency as obtained by the natural ripening process, and/or yeast growth can occur, causing off taste. Yeast growth is in particular disadvantageous when slicing the cheese. Thus the so ripened cheese has characteristics that are far removed from the characteristics typical for a natural ripened cheese.